


Unusual Meetings

by itsAlliebitheway



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, FBI Trainee!Sara, Hospitals, House Party, Hurt/Comfort, Mind the warnings, Rape, Scientist!Ava, Slow Burn, a little fluff, it's only gonna get worse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:34:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsAlliebitheway/pseuds/itsAlliebitheway
Summary: Sara accompanies her buddy Ray to a party to help out as a wingwoman. When she drags a shit-faced Ray outside to wait for a taxi, she sees something that equally kick-starts her own memory and body into action. Thankfully, her training helps her with a situation she is all too familiar with.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	Unusual Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys
> 
> Let me just say, I'm sorry in advance? Idk how this turned so dark. I was at a party and asked everyone for the first word that came into mind to incorporate while writing, which explains the party theme, but not what came after that. I have more written already, so if you want more of this dark and painfull universe I have created, let me know. I plan on Avalance endgame obviously, but it'll take a while...
> 
> enjoy reading? :)

Sara was impressed when she tasted the so called “Bachwasser”, a German drink one of Ray's colleagues showed them from his trip to Germany. The translation would be 'creek water' which made sense because it had a brown color like a muddy river would have. The base liquor was corn schnapps mixed with a little peach iced tea and water, so it would not be too strong. She emptied her cup and poured herself another one just to make sure she really liked it. 

“She is looking over, laugh as if I said something funny”, Ray whispered, and Sara broke out into a laugh immediately. 

He had dragged her to this party to make some girl from his work jealous, even though he would never really talk to her. Sara did not even know which women Ray was pining for, but she played her part in trying to be a good wing woman to her friend. 

A little while later, as they were playing some stupid drinking game with tequila shots, Sara's eyes wandered through the room only to stop on a tall girl with long honey blond hair in a brown top and high waisted jeans. She was talking to a guy who had his back to Sara but from the looks of the tall girl’s face she was not too interested in the conversation and just talked to him to be polite.

She focused on the game again and tried to stop herself thinking about the girl, but the tequila made it hard for her not to imagine the blond naked. She gestured Ray that she needed to get some water and left the table, heading for the kitchen. She filled her cup at the tap and emptied it in one go. The cool water cleared her head a little bit but not enough. She filled it again and took it back to their table. Ray was just about to take three shots in a row because he apparently had lost the game. She decided that he needed the water more. Just when Sara wanted to hand it to him, he leaned to the side and puked into one of the pots of a giant house plant that was luckily standing right next to him. She gritted her teeth and pulled him up when he was done. 

“I think it is time for us to leave, buddy”, she claimed and dragged him in the direction of the exit.   
Sara had already called a cap when they reached the front lawn. Given the suburban location, it would take the cap 10 minutes to arrive which were enough for Ray to puke again and while doing that spilling Sara’s water with an uncontrolled yank of his arm. On the lawn were more people from the party, all looking kind of nerdy in their own way given that Ray was working for some sort of science tech company. She was surprised that these nerds could drink so much. 

She let her eyes wander again, away from Ray and his puke stained shirt and shoes. A weird looking plastic flamingo caught her attention. It was supposed to be decorative, but Sara just thought it looked really tacky next to the ensemble of a view thin trees and bushes behind it. 

A motion made her freeze. She saw a single foot almost like spasming beneath the bushes. A memory flashed through her body and clouded her brain. She needed to move but she couldn’t. 

Thankfully, Ray fell against her legs and woke her from her trance. He had been sitting on the ground now falling sideways starting to snore on the spot. 

But she did not care. She had to look for the person attached to the foot. She hurried to the bushes and froze again when she saw a man nailing a woman to the ground. The woman obviously tried with all her might to throw him off but was too weak to do so. Sara recognized them both immediately as the tall blond and the guy she was talking to earlier. 

Fortunately, Sara’s training kicked in and she jumped on the man’s back locking his head in with her right arm. He struggled and tried to shake her off but soon his oxygen was too low, and his body got limb. She tossed his body aside and kneeled next to the woman. For her own luck, Sara was still in professional mode, otherwise she would not have been able to do anything at all.

“Hey, my name is Sara Lance, you’re safe now. Can you tell me your name?”, Sara softly said like she had learned it in her training. 

“Ava” whispered the woman. Silent tears were streaming down her face. “Did you kill him?”, she asked.

“No, I just made him unconscious. I am going to tie him up now, but I will be right back. Is that Okay with you?”, she asked Ava. The woman simply nodded. Sara took off her belt, dragged the man in a sitting position and tied up his hands behind his back. But it was not enough. She returned to Ava.

“Ava, I need your belt to tie him to one of those trees. Is it okay with you if I take it?”, she asked, scanning the blondes face. Ava nodded again. 

She was still laying down and Sara now saw a small puddle of blood next to her head. The man must have knocked her down pretty hard. After Ava gave her the permission, Sara looked at her legs for the first time. Her pants and underwear were ripped down till her knees. Sara gulped. But she was still in a professional mode.

“Ava, may I help you to get dressed again first?”

“Yes, please”, the other women whimpered. 

Sara got down to her knees again and vocalized everything she was doing, so Ava would feel safer. Also, it helped her keep control over her own movements.  
“I’m pulling up your underwear now. Could you lift yourself up a little bit? Thank you. Now I’m pulling up your jeans. I’m closing your sipper and button now. Sorry, my hands are really cold. Now I’m taking your belt. I’ll be right back.”

She dragged the man to one of the thin trees and was relieved to see that the belt was long enough to fix him to the trunk. She got out her phone and called her dad. He was on duty tonight.  
“Dad, come to the location I’ll send you in a second. There’s been a rape. Call an ambulance too, she is bleeding on her head.” She sent him the location, then returned to Ava, this time kneeling next to her head. 

“Ava, I’m back. I called for help. Can you tell me if you feel pain anywhere?”  
“My head really hurts and I’m really cold. I can’t move.” Sara scanned her again for injuries and realized that Ava’s top was also pulled down together with her bra. She bit her lip but did not say anything of what was going on in her head. Instead she chose the professional way again.

“Your bra is pulled down. Can you put it back on by yourself or would you like my help?”   
“I… I can’t move. Please…”, Ava whispered. Another wave of tears streamed down her face and she started to shiver.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m gonna help you, no problem.” Sara replied and again commented everything until Ava was dressed again. Sara took off her own jacket.

“I’m gonna lift you up a bit now and wrap you in may jacket to keep you warmer. If anything hurts or you feel uncomfortable, please say immediately.” Ava nodded and Sara slowly lifted her up into a sitting position. The taller woman did not complain so she put her jacket around her shoulders.  
“Should I support your back while your sitting or do you want to lay back down?”, Sara asked. 

Far away behind the leaves of the bushes and trees she could already see the blue and red lights flashing from a police car. 

“I don’t know. I feel a little dizzy”, Ava stated.   
“Alright, I’m just gonna hold you like this if you don’t mind that. That way your head is in a safer position than on the ground”, Sara explained while holding Ava’s shoulders. 

A grunt from nearby made her head spin. The man was slowly waking up. Just in time for the police.

When her dad finally arrived, he used the same emotionless voice he always had while on duty. He explained that two colleagues were clearing the lawn ordering everyone inside so that no one would see them. Then he went away again to get the paramedics who had just arrived. They returned with a stretcher, but Ava suddenly grabbed Sara’s wrist when they wanted to put her on it.

“Please don’t let them take me.” Sara turned to one of the paramedics.

“Can I ride with her in the ambulance?” The woman looked at her suspiciously.  
“Are you a relative?”, she asked and continued strapping Ava to the stretcher.  
“No but I found her. And I am also a Special Agent in training. I know how these things work. You’ll have it easier if there is a familiar face around.” The paramedic lifted her eyebrow then shortly nodded.

She took a seat next to Ava and the paramedic in the back of the ambulance holding Ava’s hand the whole time. 

“She said before that she couldn’t move, but I think it’s because she is in shock. Besides the wound on her head I didn’t find any injuries”, Sara told her, giving some kind of protocol. The woman nodded again and resumed to examining Ava again. Her hand was feeling cold against Sara’s even though she was still wrapped in Sara’s jacket and now a security blanket. 

“You’re right about the state of shock Miss Lance. I think she will be thankful about that later”, the paramedic stated and filled something out on a clipboard. When they arrived at the hospital Ava seemed almost asleep. She was rolled into an inspection room while Sara was about to get questioned by her dad. He was the only one of the police forces who followed them to the hospital. His colleagues had taken the rapist to the police station. 

“Please state your name and title for the protocol”, he proclaimed while holding a tiny voice recorder. Sara knew how these kinds of questionings worked given that she had to play them out as the questioner in her training.

“Sara Lance, Special Agent in training with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”  
“Please state, when and how you found the victim.”  
“I was leaving the party at 11:15 with my friend Ray who was really drunk. While we waited for a cap, he fell asleep on the ground. I looked around and saw a foot moving. I decided to see if something was wrong and found a man nailing down a woman on the ground. She was visibly struggling against him, so I locked his head in a head lock cutting off his oxygen for a short time. He fell down unconscious but apart from that unharmed. The woman’s pants and underwear as well as her top and bra were pulled down. She was bleeding on the head and said she could not move.” 

It took all Sara’s power to get the last sentences out without a tremble in her voice. Her father could see the pain she was feeling on her face but ended the recording before he said anything.

“Kiddo, how do you feel? I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.” He patted her shoulder in a clumsy but loving way and waited for her to answer.  
“Right now I am working on adrenalin. I’m only scared for tomorrow, but this woman needs me, I don’t think she has anyone or else she would have asked for them by now.” Her dad nodded.

“I understand. But please also think about yourself. It’s okay if this is too much for you.” Sara shrugged her shoulders.   
“I think I can handle it. It had to happen sooner or later and maybe it’s a good thing that it happened now. I don’t have to dread the day anymore.” 

She was interrupted when a nurse came out of the room where they were treating Ava.   
“You can question her now, Detective. But please keep in mind that she has suffered a severe trauma tonight. Keep it brief and try not to upset her. We will give her something to sleep, to make sure the state of shock she is in ends before we discharge her. And she also asked for a Sara, I assume this is you?”, the nurse asked looking at Sara. 

She affirmed and together with her dad she entered the room.   
Ava was now dressed in a hospital gown and tucked in under two thick woolen blankets. She was hooked to an infusion bag. Her head turned their way and when she recognized Sara a glad expression was visible. Unspoken but approved from her father, Sara took the lead with asking questions while her dad just stayed in the background.

“Hey Ava, how do you feel?”, she asked her stepping nearer to the woman’s bed.   
“Tired mostly, and my head still hurts. They said I have a concussion.”   
“I’d like you to meet someone. This is my dad, Detective Lance. He is the one who arrested the man that attacked you tonight. He needs to ask you some questions to make sure that the man stays in prison for a long time. Is that okay for you?”

“If it helps you to keep him away forever, I’ll do it. What do you want to know?” Detective Lance now stepped forward. He was holding a small notebook and pencil, ready to take notes.

“Did you know the man, or did you meet at the party?”, he asked.

“I met him at the party for the first time. He approached me and tried to involve me in a conversation, but I wasn’t interested. When I told him that I was about to leave he told me not to be such a stiff and tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away. I told him I was gay and left the room. About 15 minutes later I was waiting for my taxi outside. He grabbed me from behind, dragged me behind those bushes and pushed me down to the ground. I hit my head on a rock or something and my vision became blurry. He nailed me down on the ground and whispered in my ear that he would fuck me straight. I tried to shake him off, but I couldn’t really move underneath him. He pulled down my cloths and got his dick out when Sara found me and saved me.” 

Ava ended her surprisingly accurate description on the same emotionless tone that she started it. Sara knew that self-defense mechanism all too well. She shot her dad a questioning look. He just nodded and answered:

“Thank you, that was really helpful. I don’t need anything else for now but please prepare to make an official statement at the police station during the next week. I wish you a good recovery.”   
“Thank you, Detective.” As they were about to leave the room Ava asked:

“Sara, could you stay a little while longer?” She exchanged looks with her dad again. He was looking for signs in his daughter’s face, signs that she would not want to stay or that she could not. But he was not able to find any. She was strong.

“Please call a cap when you go, kiddo”, he just said and left the room. Sara sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed. 

“I know that we don’t really know each other, but I would really like it if you could stay with me just for a little while?”, Ava wanted to know starring at Sara.  
“Yes, sure. No problem. Whatever you need. Do you want to talk about something or just remain silent?”, Sara asked, unsure of what the other woman wanted from her.

“Silence would be nice, my head still really hurts. But… I know this is silly, but would you hold my hand?” the tall woman shyly asked.  
“Of course, I don’t mind”, Sara replied, taking Ava’s offered hand, and blushing a little bit. 

After a while she spoke again:  
“Your hand feels safe to me almost like an anchor. In between the trees, in the ambulance and now here. It was the only good touch tonight.” 

Sara could not say a word. She finally rested for the first time since she dragged Ray out of the party which felt like ages ago. Her adrenalin was slowly reducing. She realized how tired she was and also felt her carefully built up walls crumble a little bit. She couldn’t hold back the two tears that dropped from her face. She brushed them off angrily. It was not her place to cry tonight.

“Why are you crying?”, came the immediate question from Ava. Sara cleared her throat and controlled her anger once more when she finally spoke again:  
“It’s just so unfair that this kind of stuff keeps happening. And I was too late to stop it from happening to you, I’m sorry.”

“You couldn’t have done more. I was immensely lucky that you showed up when you did.”  
“But maybe I could have been there earlier. You know, I actually saw you talking to the guy inside. I noticed how unhappy you looked but I didn’t do anything. I could have intervened right there, but I didn’t.”

“Please stop blaming yourself. No one but the offender is to blame here and that’s always the case with sexual assault. Now circle back a tad. Have you been watching me at the party?” 

Sara couldn’t believe what she was hearing. First Ava comforted her after she had probably the worst night of her life and then she made a joke. Now even a small smile crept on Ava’s lips. And that smile made Sara see her for the first time not as the victim of an assault but as the beautiful woman who caught her eye earlier this evening again. She returned the smile, now more aware than ever of their joined hands.

“You know, I really did check you out. But I didn’t think you would like women, so I didn’t even try to approach you.”  
“And did you like what you saw, Sara?”, Ava asked still smiling.  
“I really did, actually”, Sara stuttered lowering her face to hide how hard she was blushing at the moment. Luckily right then a nurse entered the room. 

“I have your sleeping medication, Miss Sharpe. I will inject you with it now, you will sleep a dreamless sleep for approximately four to five hours and when you wake up you can go home.” Ava nodded and turned to Sara:

“Will you stay until I’m asleep?”  
“I will also be here when you wake up if you don’t mind?”, she asked and squeezed her hand a little.  
“I’d like that even better.” Ava returned the gesture and nodded to the nurse as a sign that she was ready for the injection. 

It happened quickly and the nurse left the room with the words:   
“I’ll be ne back in a second.” Sara raised her eyebrow and wondered out loud:   
“Why would she be back? Do you get more drugs?” Ava just shrugged her shoulders. Her eyelids already struggled to stay open, but even then, she did not let go of Sara’s hand. 

When the nurse returned, she was carrying a blanket and gave it to Sara.   
“I thought you could use it. We have a vending machine down the hall but the one with the drinks is broken, so if you want some coffee you can just knock on the nurses' office and we'll hook you up.” “Thank you so much, that's very kind”, Sara replied. The nurse nodded and left once more. 

Ava opened her eyes again when she heard the door close.   
“What did she want?”, she asked blinking slowly but constantly.   
“She just brought me a blanket, nothing you need to worry about. You should really give in to the sleep now, there is no point fighting it.” She stood up and stepped to the bed, pointing to Ava’s blankets.   
“May I?”, she asked and when Ava nodded, she pulled her blankets up to her chin and tucked her in a little bit. Ava turned her head sleepily right when Sara’s hand was close, so they accidentally touched making Sara flinch back. 

“Sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen”, she mumbled and stopped tucking Ava in.   
“It was nice. Can you do it again?”, Ava asked drowsily and with closed eyes.   
“Yeah sure, if you want me to”, Sara whispered unsure of what she should do. 

Ava slowly nodded. She tugged a loose strand of hair behind Ava’s ear then touched her cheek gently. When she felt Ava leaning a little against her hand, she felt a little more comfortable and started stroking her forehead with her thumb, along the temple and finally her cheek again. Then she just rested her hand there holding Ava’s head in a convenient position. Ten minutes went by, but Sara did not dare moving. When she was sure Ava was finally sleeping, she sat back down, wrapped herself in her own blanked and tried to catch a couple hours of sleep as well. She did not realize how tired she was up until this point, but just five minutes after she sat down, Sara was also asleep. 

She woke again when she heard the door open and sat up straight immediately. It was the nurse again. She checked on Ava’s infusion and scribbled something on her clipboard afterwards. 

“Is everything okay with her?” she whispered standing up and stepping towards the bed.   
“Yes, everything is totally fine. She doesn't need the infusion anymore. I'm sorry if I woke you.”   
“No, that's alright. No one can really sleep in a hospital chair anyways, right?”, Sara replied stretching her shoulders a little bit. 

“How about this coffee now, you look like you could use it, no offense”, the nurse said with a little chuckle.   
“None taken, I can only imagine how I must look by now. But I will gladly get a cup.” 

She followed the woman to the nurses’ office where she poured them both a cup and gestured Sara to sit down. 

“Milk or sugar?”, she asked putting some milk in her own cup.  
“I like it black, thank you so much”, Sara smiled accepting the mug. “I’m Sara by the way.”   
“My name is Melanie”, the nurse replied and continued: 

“So, might I ask how long you two have been dating?” Sara choked on the coffee. After a couple of awkward choughs, she was able to rasp:   
“We’re not dating. We actually met tonight.” 

“Oh sorry, that was too forward again, this happens all the time. Some patients have complained about my lack of tact. You just seemed so familiar, I thought…”, she rambled on, but Sara cut her off before she could say anymore: 

“Hey, it's okay. I like straight forward a lot more than shyly talking around everything important. And I guess it's pretty obvious that I have a huge crush on her, isn't it?” Melanie smiled looking down into her cup.   
“Yeah, it kind of is.”   
“I thought so”, Sara said cringing. 

After that, none of them knew what to say so they just sat in silence and drank their coffee. When Sara emptied her cup, she handed it back to Melanie and said: “Thank you again, I really needed this. I'm gonna go back to Ava’s room now. I wanna be there when she wakes up.”   
“Of course. If she or you need anything you know where to find me”, she replied. 

Sara left the room. She made a quick stop at the vending machine where she got herself a large snickers bar and some m&m’s. While she ate her improvised 3am snack she wandered around Ava’s room. She tried to not constantly stare at Ava, but her gaze came always back to her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, like nothing ever troubled her.

Suddenly there was a constant buzzing sound and it took Sara full 15 seconds to realize that her phone was ringing. She quietly got to her chair where she had left it and saw Ray’s name on the screen.

“Hey Ray, hold on a second I have to leave a room”, she closed the door behind her then continued: “Why are you calling me at 3am in the morning?”  
“I just woke up on a bench near the house where the party was and I can’t remember a thing. What happened and where are you? Why are you answering your phone at 3am? Did you hook up with somebody?”  
“If you don’t stop asking questions, I’m never gonna answer Ray”, Sara interrupted him.  
“True okay I’ll be quiet now”, Ray said abashed.

“You got totally wasted at the party and I tried to take you home after you puked into a flower pot. While we waited for the taxi you puked again and fell asleep on the ground in the driveway.”   
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’m never gonna drink again. I hope Ava didn’t see me like this”, he whined.  
“Trust me she didn’t. Wait, is Ava the woman you wanted to make jealous with me?”, Sara asked deciding how much she could tell Ray about the events of the night.

“Well, yeah but I can forget about that now, I guess. How do you know her? Did I forget a conversation we had before I humiliated myself?”, he wanted to know and sounded a little excited.  
“No Ray, we three didn’t talk. Let’s just say that I met Ava outside. I’m actually with her right now.”

“So you did hook up with somebody!”, Ray yelled with triumph in his voice until he realized that his crush was actually gay and with his best friend in this moment.  
“No Ray, we didn’t hook up. Ava was in a situation and I helped her. And when I came back you were gone. I assumed that you just took the taxi and went home.”  
“No, I woke up to cops ending the party. Guess it must have been really loud. I just walked away and probably fell asleep on the next best thing again. But wait, circling back, if you didn’t hook up with Ava, does that mean that I could still have a shot with her?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but she actually is into woman. I don’t know if she might be bi, we didn’t get this far, but I have a feeling she doesn’t want to have any kind of relationship right now.”  
“Did she tell you that?”, Ray asked.  
“Not exactly. Look Ray it’s not my story to tell. If you wanna know more about her, you’ll just have to ask her. But maybe not in the near future. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you next weekend when I come home from Quantico, alright?”

“Yes of course. And thank you again for taking care of me, Sara. Really appreciate it.”  
“Always Ray, that’s what friends are for, right?”  
“Right, talk to you soon, bye”, Ray hung up and Sara entered Ava’s room again. 

She was caught by surprise when she saw the other woman awake and out of bed.   
“Oh hey, sleepyhead. How was your snooze?”, Sara asked and threw her phone on the chair again. Ava flinched. Apparently, she had not heard Sara come in.   
“Geeze, Sara. I thought you were gone”, she yelled and quickly turned to face her.

“I promised you, I’ll be here when you wake up and I always keep my promises”, Sara told her and because she felt awkward just facing each other she took the blanket Melanie gave to her earlier and started folding it.

“Technically, you weren’t actually here, when I woke up so you can’t say that you always keep your promises”, Ava teased. She could not stand to just look at Sara either, so she turned again and looked out of the window where everything was still dark.  
“You got me there. I was taking a call outside because I didn’t wanna wake you.” Ava turned again with a big smile on her face.

“What is your life like that people call you at 3am and know you’ll get it?”, she wondered and just watched Sara still folding the blanket.  
“It was my friend Ray. He wanted to know where I was or rather how he ended up where he was. I accompanied him to the party, but he got pretty wasted. When I… when I found you, I just left him sleeping in the driveway. He said he woke up on a bench and doesn’t remember a thing, so I filled him in a little bit.” 

“I know him from work. Did you talk about me with him”, she asked now a little tense.  
“Don’t worry. I told him this too, it’s not my story to tell. He actually knows you from work too, but all I said that you were in a bad situation, so I helped. You could just say that you were pretty wasted as well. No one would know what happened.”

“I don’t know yet. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. I’m gonna take some time off of work and go home to my parents in Fresno, I think. God, I can’t watch this, my OCD is screaming right now. Let me help you with the blanket”, Ava demanded and grabbed the edge of the blanket. After they untangled the mess Sara had made the folding was done in a minute. Ava handed Sara her side for the last fold when their hands touched. Sara quickly grabbed it and winced back a foot.

“I’m sorry”, she mumbled and turned away putting the folded blanket on her chair.  
“Why do you keep apologizing for normal body contact? It’s not like I’ve been infected with a virus or something. You make me feel bad”, Ava stated with a low tone in her voice which made Sara turn to her again.

“No, it’s not that. I… gosh I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really like you, Ava. And I know it makes no sense because we literally just met 4 hours ago under the most unusual circumstances but I really wanna touch you. And not only in a holding hands touch situation. But I can’t do that because you can’t do that just now, not so soon. You’re not ready!”, Sara said, angry at herself because she could not keep her voice down while spilling her guts to a woman that she just met talking about her feelings.

“Excuse me?!”, Ava was also yelling now. “You can’t tell me what I’m feeling! How would you know anyways?”

“Because I’ve been there, Ava!”, Sara screamed now. She realized it when she saw the shock on Ava’s face and repeated calmly this time:

“Because I’ve been there. In my senior year of high school, I got raped. He was a serial rapist that was wanted by the Police and later even the FBI. He picked all the girls up after they left this Italian place right next to the school and he never used a condom, so the police had his DNA the whole time but never his face. When the FBI finally arrested him, he turned out to be one of the teachers at our school. On the day of his arrest I was recovering from my abortion, so yes, I know how it feels. I couldn’t stand to be touched by anyone but my family for a month.”

Sara was breathing heavily. She could not believe that she told Ava about her past. They were basically strangers and yet Sara felt the need to be honest with her. Ava seemed taken by surprise. It took her a long time to speak again.

“I’m really sorry that this happened to you Sara. This night must be like reliving your own personal nightmare and I even asked you to stay. But look. I’m not you, okay. Maybe I need physical contact to heal. Maybe I don’t, but please let me make my own decisions.”, Ava plainly said and sat back down on her bed. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry it’s not my place. You’re right about the nightmare part too, but that’s also why I joined the FBI. So that I could help women and men like us. But I never had such a case before, so I guess I need to work on myself a little more if I don’t want to have a mental breakdown every time.”

“Wait, you work for the FBI?”, Ava asked.  
“Well not until I pass my final exam next month. I’m still a trainee but I could definitely show you some self-defense tricks to keep the creeps away.”  
“That’s actually a good idea. I might take you up on that when I come back from my parents. But for now, I really wanna get out of this hospital. Could you maybe tell the nurse to bring the dischargement papers while I get dressed?”  
“Yes, of course. Be right back”, Sara said leaving the room. 

Melanie was working on some files when Sara knocked on the open door trying not to scare her.  
“Ava woke up and is ready to go home.”  
“So I’ve heard”, she said grinning and handed Sara an already prepared clipboard. 

“Oh god sorry, I didn’t even realize how loud the fight must have been”, Sara said apologetically.   
“Don’t worry about it. It’s kind of normal here. Just bring back the papers when you’re leaving than you’re good”, she told her already focusing on her files again.  
“Alright, thank you so much”, Sara answered and returned to Ava’s room. 

Ava was already wearing her jeans again. She was standing with her back to the door, trying to untie the knot on her hospital gown when Sara entered.  
“Oh sorry. I’ll wait outside”, she claimed awkwardly and was already halfway out when Ava asked:

“Wait, would you help me with this? I can’t get knots open when I can’t see them.”  
“Sure, no problem”, Sara answered and crossed the distance between them in a blink of an eye. 

“Besides, you have already seen all the fun parts so why would you wait outside?”, Ava asked jokingly and stopped fiddling with the knot. Sara took it out of her hands and untied it in five seconds.  
“Wow you’re really incapable, no offense. And just for the protocol, I was in my professional mode, I didn’t pay attention to your looks I just wanted to get you to safety”, Sara said still holding the strings so Ava would not stand naked from the waist up in front of her. 

“Professional mode?”, she laughed and took the strings from Sara’s hands. She did not seem to see a reason why she should cover up while getting dressed so she let go of them before putting on her bra.   
“Now, you’re just teasing me”, Sara said with a raspy voice still staring at Ava’s now bare back.

“No, I just think it’s stupid to hide. You literally but my boobs back into my bra and also, I’m pretty comfortable with my body so I don’t care if you see it again”, she said while putting on her bra herself this time. 

“Would you close it? I think my arms and shoulders are too sore to bend properly. Aftermath of tonight’s cramped postures probably.”  
“Got it”, Sara whispered when she hooked the bra. 

Ava turned around while she squeezed herself back into her brown top which fit skin-tight. Sara could not help herself but to stare at her.

“When will the nurse be here to discharge me?”, she asked and broke Sara’s trance. She reached for the clipboard and handed it to Ava with the comment:  
“You’ll just fill these out and we’ll give it to her on our way out, that’s all. Why don’t I call us a cap while you fill this out and we meet outside?” 

Sara needed the fresh air. She behaved like a boy in puberty who saw boobs for the first time and she really needed to stop that.

“Good idea. I’ll catch you outside”, Ava said and devoted herself to the clipboard. 

Sara left the hospital as fast as she could. She called the cap service and was promised a ride in three minutes. She sat down on a bench next to the entrance and watched the empty street and the cloudy night sky. She took a couple long breaths to calm herself down. Even if Ava showed any type of feelings for her, she could not be the first to act on them. It needed to come from her.

Somewhere close by, a church bell rang in 4am. Aside her little nap next to Ava’s hospital bed she had been awake for 20 hours now and she slowly but surely felt her body reacting to that. Her shoulders were tensing, and it became harder for her eyes to focus.

“You forgot your jacket”, said someone right next to her. Sara flinched but recognized Ava’s voice at once.   
“I’m not cold. You can put it on if you want to since you got none of your own”, she answered standing up as their taxi rolled up.

“I was hoping you’d say that because I’m freezing”, Ava said smiling and climbed into the backseat while Sara was holding the door for her.   
“22 on 8th street please”, Ava told the driver when Sara got in. 

“Oh sorry, I just told him my address. Where do you need to go, we can go there first.”  
“No, that’s alright. I feel better dropping you off first. That way I know nothing will happen to you while I’m not here”, Sara smiled.  
“You are really taking this protecting thing serious, aren’t you?”, Ava asked with a grin.   
“I’m only doing my job”, she answered, and they rode in silence until they reached Ava’s address. 

Sara told the cap driver to wait for her and got out of the car behind her.   
“Do you want to come up and check if no mad axe murderer is hiding in my closet?”, Ava asked with a shy smile.   
“If you feel unsafe, I can do that, yeah”, Sara whispered stepping a little closer to her. 

She slowly found her way back to her usually so smooth flirting self. But she reminded herself that she had to hold herself back. She could not make the first step. 

“Maybe you could check out more than my closet?”, Ava now whispered too and mirrored Sara’s movement towards her.   
“If you want me to, it would be my pleasure”, Sara replied. 

They were now so close that they could feel each other’s breaths. It took every ounce of self-control from Sara not to push Ava against the wall and kiss her passionately. Almost like reading her mind, Ava leaned down to Sara and pressed her lips onto hers. It was an intense kiss immediately but with only their mouths touching. But Sara needed more and now that Ava made the first step, she felt like she could risk it. She simultaneously opened her mouth a little, traced Ava’s lower lip with her tongue and wrapped her arm around Ava’s waist to pull her closer.

But in this moment Sara felt her freeze. She let Ava go at once, breathing heavily. Ava turned away her face buried beneath her hands. Her words came out muffled: 

“Shit, shit! I’m sorry I can’t do it. I thought I could, but I can’t. You must think that I’m such a looser.”  
“Ava, hey, look at me. I don’t think that you’re a looser. If anyone can understand what you’re feeling it’s me, remember. You need time I get that”, Sara calmly said this time not trying to get any closer.

“I just remembered the way he nailed me down and couldn’t forget it. I feel so humiliated.”  
“Hey, look at me, Ava, please look at me. May I take your hands?” Sara asked trying very hard to talk in a soothing voice. 

Ava nodded and let Sara pull her hands from her face. She did not let go but squeezed them a little to show her support as she spoke.  
“It needs so much time to heal. I flinched from touches in everyday life. It took me two months to accept a hug from my best friend with whom I practically grew up just because he is a guy. Intimacy is completely different and a whole other thing in this context. I needed someone I trusted and knew, and these two things are both not here in this moment. You don’t know me, you don’t trust me and if I were you, I wouldn’t either. Just take your time, go home, sort some things out for yourself. And if you’re ready you can give me a call, even if it’s just for the self-defense lessons.”

“Thank you, Sara. For everything, I mean. It means a lot to know that I’m not alone in this. Good night”, Ava said and let go of Sara’s hands.  
“Good night, Ava”, Sara replied and got back into the cap. 

The meter showed already 25$ but she asked the driver to wait until Ava had entered her building. When she had closed the door, the taxi headed north in the direction of Quantico and Sara fell asleep on the ride back to the academy.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry again :)


End file.
